A5 (14.8 x 21 cm) single postcard featuring Heidelberg by Joseph Mallord William Turner, part of the National Galleries of Scotland Collection.

Heidelberg is an ancient university town with a fine castle, on the river Neckar, a picturesque tributary of the Rhine. Turner visited on three occasions: in 1833, 1840 and 1844. This is one of the finest of all the artist’s late works.

The watercolour is also distinguished by its size; it is one of the largest of the Vaughan Turners in Edinburgh and was probably always meant to be an exhibition piece.

Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 1775 – 19 December 1851), known as J. M. W. Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker, and watercolourist, known for his brilliant, expressive colourisation, imaginative landscapes and turbulent, often violent marine paintings.